Varicose Veins In Pregnancy: Signs, Symptoms And Treatments

01/07/2015 16:31
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Updated
01 July 2015

Pip Jones
Parentdish UK

As lovely as pregnancy can be, there comes with it a variety of symptoms we women would really rather do without – and one of those must surely be the onset of varicose veins, a problem around more red stuff, working hard to take valuable nutrients to the placenta and your baby. But that, naturally, puts more pressure on your circulatory system.

What's more, as your baby grows, your ballooning uterus puts pressure specifically on the veins in your pelvic area which, in turn, make the inferior vena cava (an important artery on the right side of your body) work even harder to send the blood north, back to your heart.

The symptoms of varicose veins are not very pleasant. Your legs will feel heavy and achey; sometimes the skin over the veins can feel itchy; or the veins themselves can feel very tender and sore.

Some women are more at risk: those who have a family history are more likely to experience them, as are those who have been pregnant before (the risk increases with each gestation), and women who gain weight quickly during pregnancy (so try to eat healthily!)